The Tanner Report: Fulham 0 Manchester Utd 1
The less said about this dreadful match the better. Fulham’s performance was dire: once again they sat back in the second half and, the longer it stayed 0-0, the more I thought the away team would score.
Tactics tend to be impressionable and many sides – Fulham included – adopt the Pep Guardiola strategy of playing only forward up front. This can work if your forward is Erling Haaland, but not if he is Raul Jimenez or Rodrigo Muniz who both struggle against at least three defenders.
It also places a burden on your midfielders to score. Harry Wilson had to come off with an injury and Emile Smith Rowe had one of his frustrating games when he failed to attack the six yard box. This leaves the all-action Alex Iwobi, who generally cuts inside and then shoots from distance, which the United keeper Obama stopped easily.
The cliche goes that football is a game of small margins.
A header from Joachim Andersen was cleared on the line by the fresh-faced Toby Collier to deny Fulham an equaliser. However Rodrigo Muniz blazed over when he might have done better to control his shot. It came as no surprise that in the absence of any other forward Andersen went up front, leaving a gap which Amad exploited to put the game seemingly beyond doubt. However he was marginally offside so VAR chalked the goal off
The game was broadcast on TNT. Their panel of so-called experts was Rio Ferdinand and Karen Cairney. Rio tends to state the “bleeding obvious” and did not miss the opportunity to promote his brother Anton’s ice dancing which I would pay to avoid, whilst Karen Cairney made some good points but her flat Midland accent grates. Commentator Darren Fletcher prepped diligently and did refer to United’s good record at Craven Cottage of late.
It’s always interesting to read the reports. In the Telegraph the reporter made the point that Martinez the scorer of the United goal should not have been on the pitch after his duel with Adams Traoré got out of control and turned vindictive.